Ontario Funds Bundled Care Teams to Improve Patient Experience

Province Expands Coordinated Team Approach to Provide Seamless Service to Patients

Patients in six communities across the province will now benefit from an approach called bundled care, which is helping people transition more smoothly out of hospital and into their homes.

The bundled care model provides a single payment to a team of health care providers to cover care for patients both in the hospital and at home. As a patient moves throughout the system and back to their home, the majority of their health care team remains the same. Services are coordinated around the patient's needs, resulting in fewer emergency department visits and less risk of being readmitted to hospital.

Since 2011, the bundled care approach has been successfully piloted at St. Joseph's Health System in Hamilton, and is now being expanded across the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network and to five new communities. The teams will support a more seamless journey from hospital to home to help patients who require:

Nursing interventions for conditions including urinary tract infections and cellulitis.

The province plans to support additional bundled care teams in the coming year based on the results of these projects.

Moving forward with bundled care is one of 10 steps outlined in Patients First: A Roadmap to Strengthen Home and Community Care, the government's plan to strengthen home and community care in Ontario over the next three years. It is also part of the government's plan to build a better Ontario through its Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care, which is providing patients with faster access to the right care, better home and community care, the information they need to stay healthy and a health care system that is sustainable for generations to come.

Quick Facts

The six communities were selected based on an Expression of Interest, which was issued on February 5th, 2015.

In addition to the bundled care projects, the government also funds Health Links, which coordinate care for seniors and other patients with multiple, complex conditions.

St. Joseph’s Health System’s Integrated Comprehensive Care Demonstration Project was the first health care initiative in Ontario to show the benefits of a bundled care approach.

Background Information

Additional Resources

Quotes

“Strong results at St. Joseph’s Health System in Hamilton encouraged us to expand these bundled care teams to communities across the province. These new care teams will make it easier for patients to transition out of hospital and to receive the care they need at home, where we know they’d rather be. This kind of care puts patients first by organizing their care team around the specific needs of a patient, delivering better access and better outcomes.”

Dr. Eric Hoskins

Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

“Bundled care teams that help patients transition out of hospital and into home care is a made-in-Hamilton success story, and I’m proud that patients across the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant LHIN will now have access to this great program. Today’s announcement is an example of how our government is embracing innovative approaches to care that lead to better outcomes for patients, helping them get healthier faster.”

Ted McMeekin

MPP for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale

“We have been privileged to help develop this program through the success of the St. Joseph’s Health System Integrated Comprehensive Care Project and are honoured to work with our partners to extend this model in a way that works best locally for them. In health care, when we discover something that improves the patient experience in an efficient model and enables health care providers to feel more confident in the care that they deliver, we know we’re onto something. We would like to thank Minister Hoskins for championing this transformative model of care that is truly patient centered.”